The average person in the UK is using 10% less electricity than five years ago, according to an analysis of government statistics for the BBC. An increasing awareness of energy waste and an uptake in green improvements such as roof and wall insulation have helped to cut down energy bills.
It is not just households that are cutting energy costs — small and growing businesses could potentially save big money if they implement robust and lasting changes to the way they use energy. Many have already.
Technology is key
Fascia Graphics, a Chippenham based manufacturer of screen printed labels, membrane keypads and graphic overlays, has worked hard to reduce its carbon footprint while at the same time increasing productivity.
Paul Bennett, managing director, says: “Our approach to continuous improvement and lean manufacturing has always meant that we have invested heavily in new technology to ensure that all of our processes are as efficient as possible.”
“Although an investment in new technology is often driven by a desire to be more productive, if managed correctly, you can also achieve significant reductions in energy usage and your carbon footprint.”
The efforts to reduce energy usage have been two-pronged. In 2012 and 2013 Fascia invested in cylinder presses that reduced the amount of energy consumption —one machine now does the work of ten machines and reduces the company’s carbon footprint by 25%.
The second stage saw Fascia appointing an external company to make further cost-saving recommendations. It installed smart energy optimising technology, including LED lighting across the factory, which will help the business to save over one third of its energy costs.
“This was a real eye opener for us, and the energy saving solutions proposed are already making a huge difference to our environmental credentials and ongoing business costs,” says Bennett.
A green makeover for old buildings
Implementing solutions to reduce energy usage is even harder when the business is located in a listed building. Nottingham Playhouse began the process to give the building an energy efficient overhaul five years ago.
According to chief executive Stephanie Sirr, as a publicly-funded organisation, the obligation to behave in a way that bore scrutiny was central to the initiative.
“But it was also about how we could spend more money on making theatre and less money on electricity bills and gas bills,” she says. “We are in a 1960s listed building and it is all glazed and incredibly energy inefficient. You couldn’t design a worse building.”
It took the Playhouse two years to get permissions to install double-glazing because of the building’s listed status.
The Playhouse brought in an external company to assess the building and present several solutions that would cut bills and free budget to continue to grow. “Some of the stuff is really dull – roof insulation, door glazing – but they told us how much different things would save us,” says Sirr.
The building now features secondary double-glazing and roof insulation and the attention, says Sirr, has turned to how the building is used. “Now it is about how we schedule activities and how we use the building. We know that the energy use has gone right down – it is down by at least 30% already so now it is about management.”
Responsible behaviour
At Bulldog, the men’s skincare company, there was an effort from the start to foster an environmentally-responsible culture. “Practical habits, such as setting all computers to auto-shut at the end of the day instead of standby, enabling energy saving settings on computers and ensuring all office lights are turned off at the end of the day are done as standard,” says founder, Simon Duffy.
“Last year, we invested in a complete overhaul of all desktops and monitors to newer, energy-efficient LED monitors and this has resulted in substantial savings on our energy bills.”
In an effort to pinpoint the biggest energy drain, Bulldog installed a commercial energy monitor. The results were not surprising. “Our heating costs were quite hefty during the winter months and as a result, we purchased more energy efficient heaters and contacted our energy supplier to ensure that we were on the best business energy tariff,” explains Duffy. “I recommend doing some research into commercial energy plans.”
Iain Walker, head of SME sales and marketing at E.ON says: “The bottom line is that to save energy – and ultimately money – you and your colleagues need to care about reducing waste.
“Educating your team about the consequences of poor energy habits – or posting the successes of internal campaigns – is a big part of improving things, as is laying down the ground rules on what should be done and by whom. People need to be encouraged to switch things off, and are sometimes not sure if they’re ‘allowed’ to do it.”
E.ON has recently launched a new online Energy Toolkit that shows businesses where they could save energy, helping them to cut business costs. E.ON also provide downloadable posters and an energy saving guide, which can be used to inspire and educate employees.
Cutting energy, boosting growth
Cutting energy costs doesn’t have to mean huge investments; some might be able to notice price drops through smaller changes, such as installing energy-efficient light bulbs.
Bennett says the investment has been worthwhile; helping to cut costs and grow the business, but also improve the reputation of the company. “As well as reducing our carbon footprint, we have increased our productivity substantially and also seen our turnover increase to almost £4m. We are very proud of the fact that we are striving to become more eco-friendly and our customers have also recognised this commitment,” he says.
For Sirr at Nottingham Playhouse, the big changes to an environmentally inefficient building have quite simply meant that everything is more affordable. “Money we would have spent on energy we can now spend on participation activity and it means it is easier for us to say yes,” she explains.
She says with no prospect of energy costs falling, her advice is to implement changes sooner rather than later. “The sooner you get it done, the sooner you start the savings. It is not going to go away, money is tight so it seems crazy to heat the night sky when you could put the money back into your business.”
Content on this page is paid for and produced to a brief agreed with E.ON, sponsor of the Efficiency hub.
